1. Field of the Invention
The invention is directed to a child car seat, composed of, on the one hand, a seat shell comprising a lower sitting region with a bottom stand surface to be stood on a seat of a vehicle, a backrest region extending upwardly from the sitting region and having an outer surface to be leaned against the backrest of the vehicle seat, and lateral surfaces, for example lateral armrests, shoulder supports and/or head supports, for limiting the lateral range of movement of a child, at least that portion of the backrest region that comprises the rear leaning surface being rigidly connected to the sitting region comprising the bottom stand surface; and on the other hand, a seat element comprising a sitting surface and/or backrest that is/are disposed on the inner side, turned toward the child, of the seat shell and is/are adjustable with respect thereto in terms of inclination and/or position. The bottom stand surface can be configured as two-part or multi-part, for example by means of two lateral skids. Similar measures could also be implemented with the backward leaning surface. The seat element comprising a sitting surface and/or backrest extends preferably along a (curved) two-dimensional surface and is rather thin, for example only 0.1 to 4 cm thick, measured in a direction perpendicular to the sitting surface or to the backrest, respectively.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is precisely on long trips that it is especially important to be able to adjust the inclination of a child seat, since many children have difficulty sleeping in the relatively upright sitting position and therefore desire a more inclined lying position. Various attempts have been undertaken to achieve such adjustability from a relatively upright sitting position to a more inclined lying position.
For example, the applicant's German Patent Application 10 2004 005 624 describes a child car seat which in order to be adjusted from an upright sitting position to an inclined lying position is moved as a whole with respect to the vehicle-inherent car seat concerned. The inclination of the child seat is adjusted for example by pivoting a plate downward from the seat bottom in the region of the front edge, causing the entire child seat to be shifted forward in its bottom region. This places additional stress on the vehicle-inherent belts used to fasten the child seat to the vehicle-inherent seat, by which the child seat can be cushioned in turn only if the surface regions of the belt guide slits on the child seat are elastically implemented and thus permit relative movement of the child seat with respect to the vehicle-inherent belt. However, on the whole this makes for a not inconsiderable structural expenditure that has a negative impact on the pricing of the prior-art seat.
German Unexamined Patent Application 31 37 923 A1 describes a child seat with a rigid seat shell; a wedge-shaped cushion and a pad can be placed in the seat in different positions, thereby changing its inner contour. In a more upright sitting position the child sits on the wedge-shaped cushion, while in a more inclined, lying position the child's legs are placed on the wedge-shaped cushion, which is shifted forward for the purpose. Such an arrangement has a great many disadvantages. For one thing, the movable elements—the wedge-shaped cushion and the pad—are fastened to the seat shell barely if at all, so an active child can independently bring these elements into the most varied positions, resulting in an uncomfortable seat geometry. Almost more detrimental, however, is the fact that for the child seat to be adjusted, the child first has to be lifted out of it to provide access to the wedge-shaped cushion and the pad and enable these elements to be rotated or shifted. It is therefore impossible to adjust the seat while the vehicle is in motion, but instead is first necessary to find a rest stop or at least a place to pull over, which can be a matter of some difficulty on the freeway.